Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to cargo carrying containers and more specifically to cargo carrying containers capable of being used for multiple purposes including, but not limited to, luggage, tote bags, golf bag carriers and reusable grocery bags, comprising attaching, strapping and immobilizing means capable of keeping the container and its cargo from shifting during transport in a vehicle.
Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
The following description of the art related to the present invention refers to a number of publications and references. Discussion of such publications herein is given to provide a more complete background of the principles related to the present invention and is not to be construed as an admission that such publications are necessarily prior art for patentability determination purposes.
Most carry-out bags, tote bags and boxes used in the food delivery, grocery and many other retail industries are not particularly practical to transport groceries, food or multiple pieces of merchandise from one place to another in a car, sports utility vehicle (“SUV”) or pick up truck. When attempting to do so, one often finds the contents of the carry out bags, tote bags or boxes strewn over the surface of the vehicle with some articles spilled or damaged. That is usually the result of items sliding around when the vehicle starts, stops or turns. Specifically, in the case of pick up trucks, the bed of the pick-up truck is typically slanted towards the cab of the truck when there is a small or light load making objects even more prone to shifting forward during stops. Large items can be tied or strapped down to keep them from shifting, but small items can be difficult to secure. Also, many pick-up trucks do not have any adequate features that come standard with the vehicle to secure the cargo.
Similar situations occur when one tries to transport articles in a car's seat or trunk using the most commonly available carry-out bags, tote bags or boxes. The most common containers, on the one hand, and most vehicles, on the other hand, do not have restraining or securing means. The invention embodied in the present application solves many of those problems.
Another significant problem with the present state of the art is that carry-out bags generally do not biodegrade and instead persist in the environment for hundreds of years. The material used to manufacture most of those carry-out bags breaks down very slowly, mostly through abrasion, tearing and photo degradation. That break-down and in some cases decomposition, result into toxic plastic bits or metabolites that contaminate soil and water while entering the food web when animals inadvertently ingest or spread those materials.
The litter problem resulting from single use plastic bags is becoming increasingly difficult to manage for local governments, and has costly negative implications for tourism, wildlife and aesthetics. Even though single use paper grocery bags are made from renewable resources and are less of a litter problem than single use plastic carry out bags, they require more resources to manufacture, transport and recycle or dispose of than single use plastic carry out bags. For those reasons, several jurisdictions across the country have implemented regulations limiting the use of single-use bags and encouraging establishments to provide reusable bags.
The main objective of the invention embodied in the present application is to provide a reusable, portable and durable cargo carrying container capable of being secured or engaged to different parts of a vehicle to safely transport cargo from any location to another. An ideal portable cargo carrier would have to be reusable, lightweight and capable of being easily folded and stored while not in use.